


Small Town, Big Heart

by bjfic_archivist



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-30
Updated: 2006-02-02
Packaged: 2018-12-27 13:29:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12082002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjfic_archivist/pseuds/bjfic_archivist
Summary: Inspired by Justin's Season 4 comment in response to Dr. Shane's observation about how friendly these Pittsburgh guys seem to be.  What if the two hottest guys in Gay P.A. (hello...Brian and Ben) find themselves going after the same new guy in town-Justin Taylor?





	1. Two Chance Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

  
Author's notes: I was planning on putting this idea in as a challenge but then decided I would try to write it myself. As a long-time reader and first-time writer I would love comments even if they are mean :)  


* * *

Justin was having a for shit day. He started his new job as Assistant Director at the Carnegie Museum of Art three weeks earlier, and was still not really in the swing of things. To make matters worse, a Monet exhibition was supposed to begin today, but the final pieces have yet to arrive. This shit never would have flown at The Met, but here in the Pitts it seems like the norm.

But to Justin this was a huge deal. Patrons had already bought tickets expecting to see an exhibition today, and he would have to turn them away. Justin checked his watch and saw that it was 9:30, a half-hour before the exhibition and already people were lining up. Justin thought it best to tell these people the bad news ASAP-and slowly inched toward the drawing crowd. 

"Good morning everyone," Justin cleared his throat. "I'm going to get to the point. There are pieces from the collection that are still in transit so today's exhibition is cancelled. I apologize for any inconvenience, and your money will be refunded within 10 business days."

Justin continued and as he finished his speech and a hush fell over the crowd. Justin apologized again and started walking back to the solace of his office. He would have liked to offer these people replacement tickets, but the rest of the exhibition dates were sold out. Just as he was about the re-enter the museum he heard someone yelling.

"Hey kid. Hey! Come back here."

Justin turned around. A large man in his mid forties was standing right in front of him with a livid expression on his face. This guy definitely had some anger issues and Justin wanted to diffuse the situation. 

"Sir, again, if I could change the circumstances I would. As I said, you are all welcome to free general admission to the museum today as well as lunch at the museum café."

The man was not appeased.

"Lunch? You are offering me lunch? The wife and I drive all the way here from Harrisburg to see those Monets and FUCK YOU for turning us away because a few pieces are missing."

"Sir, if it were up to me-"

"Save the bullshit. If it were up to ME I would be talking to a man rather than some pre-pubescent boy. Now are there any adults in the vicinity because I would LOVE to take this up with of them."

The man's wife stood by her husband's side looking extremely nervous, while Justin felt his anger building by the minute. He was trained to deal with irate patrons, but a guy like this was never in his imagination.

"Well. I'm waiting. " The man said condescendingly. 

The man started moving toward the entrance of the museum, pushing Justin out of the way. Justin suddenly snapped.

"Sir stay where you are! This lewd behavior is not accepted in this museum and I will call the police if you don't move away right now."

"Listen you little faggot-" the man snarled. All Justin's social mores went right out the window at this point. 

"NO, you listen you white trash piece of shit. Get the FUCK out of here now! Go back to Harrisburg or wherever the fuck and if I see you here again you will regret it. Oh and by the way it is pronounced "Monet"…with no "T". If you can't even manage to get that right you shouldn't even come to a museum in the first place. Maybe try NASCAR next time."

At that Justin stormed back into the museum, his heavy footsteps echoing in the large space. His staff and some scattered patrons looked at him like they were witnessing a car crash. Fucking great, Justin thought. This was his third week here and he really did not need his staff thinking he was a lunatic. He slinked into a dark corner of the museum and put his head in his hands, replaying the scene in his head again and again, until he was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"That was better than TV. I'm glad I came here on my lunch break rather than that new Bennigans."

Justin looked up and was literally stunned with what he was seeing. A man towered over him by at least a foot and was wearing the most fabulous charcoal gray suit. Justin looked up at the man and into his dark green swirling eyes then back down across his seemingly perfect build. Justin didn't think he'd ever been this pissed off, then upset, then fucking turned on all in one 5 minute period.

"um, hey." Justin decided it best to put on a professional demeanor.

"I mean, I apologize that you had to be witness to my outburst-it was very unprofessional. If you are looking for some type of, um…compensation from the museum I could-"

"No, no nothing like that," Brian said cutting off Justin mid sentence. "I came to check up on you that's all. And as I said before to thank you for the amusement-that really was better that anything I've seen on TV in years. That NASCAR thing was a nice touch."

Justin realized that this man was not a normal patron so he did not have to put on the "professional show" as he called it. A little flirting couldn’t hurt either, Justin figured he deserved it after the emotional trauma he had just endured. And this was the hottest guy he had seen since he left New York. 

"Well, **_sir_** , I am glad I could amuse you by humiliating myself in front of my staff. So feel free to move your party of one over to "Bennigans" because I don't need you to check up on me, I'm fine."

Brian was genuinely amused at this kid's gusto, but was slightly offended that he thought he would ever actually be caught dead at a Bennigans. So much for witty banter. Brian's thoughts were interrupted by a frantic beeping. He and Justin both checked their cells- but it was Justin's that was going off. Justin looked at the display and his face went white.

"shit, shit, fuck" Justin started chanting four letter words mercilessly and then began pacing around the dark corner of the museum.

"What was that?" Brian inquired. This kid looked like his life was ending. Brian received no response so he grabbed Justin by the shoulders and shook him lightly.

"Hey…Hey kid-"

"Why the fuck is everyone calling me kid, I'm fucking 27 for Christ sake."

Even since Brian laid eyes on this man, he was trying to gauge how old he was and 27 was definitely not in the mix. A few minutes ago Brian would have bet his left nut, which is obviously not a light bet, that the mystery man was not a day over 25. The kid's potty mouth was a bit of a curve ball as well. The combination of this angelic appearance with the mouth of a gang member was unsettling at best. Brian brought himself back into reality.

"I didn't mean to offend. What's your name-I'm Brian by the way."

"Justin."

"So Justin, tell me what happened with the call. I am a businessman myself and I truthfully do not think your behavior was unwarranted. That douche-bag was seriously out of line, not to mention ugly as sin."

Justin finally smiled at that, pleasing Brian immensely. Justin started to open up a bit and told Brian all about his new job and the cancelled exhibition

"I guess someone already called the director," Justin looked positively miserable. 

"…Because he wants to see me in his office at 3 and he usually never takes meetings after 1:00 on Fridays unless it's really fucking huge."

"You shouldn't get too worked up about this until you really know what its about-just relax and everything will be fine." Brian checked his watch and realized he had be at meeting in 20 minutes. Brian touched Justin's arm and continued,

"I have to be at a meeting. However, if you would ever like the cry on my shoulder in a more "intimate" setting," Brain smiled slyly and held out his business card. 

Justin was incredibly amused and stunned by this. He never thought a man this gorgeous would pursue him like this. It all made sense when he read the full name on the card. He couldn't stifle a small laugh.

"What's so fucking funny" Brian asked mildly pissed off. 

"Oh, your reputation precedes you is all. Since the day I moved here every gay boy in town has warned me about the notorious "Brian Kinney". It's a bit weird. After all the stories I didn't think you'd be so….." Justin paused thinking about how finish the phrase.

Brian interjected, "Hot? Breathtakingly Gorgeous?….well dressed?" 

"Kind," Justin smiled slightly and looked right into Brian's eyes. 

Needless to say this was not the adjective the great Brian Kinney was expecting. Brian rolled his eyes and then stepped closer to Justin, close enough so that he could whisper in his ear. Brian leaned in and whispered, "Well in that case, fuck off kid." With a jovial smirk, Brian sauntered out of the museum leaving Justin to ponder what was by far the weirdest hour of his life. 

Later that Day

Despite has semi-comical and semi-arousing encounter with Brian Kinney, Justin's day did not much improve. His entire staff was avoiding him like the plague, and he couldn’t stop replaying his outburst in his mind. What was he thinking talking to a patron that way? His thoughts were interrupted by a ringing phone. When it wasn't answered after 2 rings, Justin walked down to the main office and was annoyed to find that the entire staff was away from their desks. Ducking out early, that is just great.

"Is anyone here? What the fuck!" Justin shouted to the seemingly empty office.

The phone was still ringing so Justin resigned himself to the fact that although he was second in command at this museum he was evidently still responsible to general office work. Just perfect. At least his job at the met had been consistent-Justin never expected to be in charge, so he didn't mind doing the occasional odd job, but something about answering this phone was making Justin almost as angry as he was this morning. Finally Justin stopped delaying the inevitable.

"Hello, thanks for calling the Carnegie Art Museum, how can I help you?" Justin was less than cheerful.

"Hello. I am actually calling about organizing a group tour for my-"

Justin cut the man off mid sentence. "Well I suggest you call back during business hours, and someone can help you out with that." Justin was about to hang up when he heard the man continue.

"Oh okay, that's fine. What are your normal business hours? It's 4:30 so I thought-"

Justin cut off the man again, "Oh shit! Oh my God I am so sorry I just swore,"

Justin had assumed his staff had ducked out early, but did not realize they would have the balls to leave a full hour early--Jesus. To make matters worse he was taking all of this out on another patron. Justin continued his apology.

"Sir, can we just start this whole conversation over? I am having quite the day and it was extremely rude for me to talk to you like that. I am really sorry and I would love to talk to you about group rates,"

Much to Justin's surprise the man was chuckling.

"Hey don't worry about it, I've had days like that myself. I am a professor at Carnegie Mellon and I plan to take my class for a day trip sometime in the next few weeks."

Justin and the caller discussed the details and pricing about the group tour and Justin offered to guide a portion of the tour as well, trying to atone for his previous behavior.

"Well," Justin said. "It seems like everything is set. I will get those tickets to you soon and when you get here just come to the office and ask for Justin Taylor. Speaking of, I juts realized that I never got your name!" 

"Oh, its Ben. Ben Bruckner."


	2. Mr. Delicious

  
Author's notes: I have this problem where I give hot guys weird nicknames-as is evident in the story title! I loved Season 2 when Justin kept saying how hot Ben was so this is what inspired this chapter. Thanks for reading...   


* * *

Justin was sitting in his office going over the details of next week's exhibit when he heard the unmistakable sound of women giggling coming his way. He tried to stay focused, but it was a little hard when they entered his office and began talking about a hot guy.

"Oh my God Shirley. Have you seen a hotter man in all your years? I mean you are five years older than me…"

"Very funny Maude. But the answer is no! That man is simply **delicious**!"

Delicious huh? Justin's curiosity was officially peaked, but even though the whole museum staff knew he was gay, he didn't want to talk about "delicious" patrons with them. 

At least not yet anyway. 

Instead he decided to continue eavesdropping on their conversation and try to find out exactly **where** this man was seen, and then he could go investigate for himself. 

Just then the laughing and talking ceased, and Justin looked up to see Mr. Delicious (well, he assumed it was because this guy was freaking hot!) standing in his doorway. The women were staring at him like he was one of their Monet's! Justin was doing the same until he managed to compose himself.

"Hello Sir, I am Justin Taylor, the Assistant Director here. Is there anything I can help you with?" Justin tried not to seem too flirty but wasn't sure he succeeded.

"Justin, just the man I am looking for," the man replied and smiled warmly. 

Justin was now really confused. He didn't know if he was having some sort of extended daydream or if he just stepped into a bad porno. Either way this guy was hot; he was wearing a light blue collared shirt with gray dress pants and he had the most perfect body Justin had ever seen. This guy had to be at least 4 times his size! 

Justin somehow pulled himself out of his daydream and stood in front of the man with a blank expression, "You're looking for me?" 

"Of course. For the class tour," the man replied. "I'm Professor Ben Bruckner, I believe we spoke on the phone…"

Justin gave the man his signature smile and cut the man off mid-sentence.

"Of course! I didn't realize it was already 2:00-I have everything ready. I 'll meet you in the front in five?"

Ben agreed and walked back to the front of the museum toward his awaiting class. Meanwhile Justin sat at his desk trying to collect his thoughts-he could not believe the guy he just saw was the same guy from the phone! He was expecting someone old and unattractive and well….straight. ---Think Ted Kennedy---but this guy really was delicious! And he was nice too; hot guys are never nice, especially hot GAY guys. 

Then something dawned on Justin-this guy might not even be gay! Not every cute guy in this museum is gay; he began to think the "Brian Kinney Incident" as he now called it. Brian was definitely gay, not to mention hot as hell; so maybe Ben was too.

Two hours later the class tour was over. It went pretty well if one were judging from an academic standpoint but otherwise it was a total bust. After studying Ben's mannerisms and demeanor he was sure that the man was straight. What a waste! 

Ben's class was filing out of the building but Ben stayed a few yards behind and approached Justin. Ben was extremely nervous but he knew what he wanted. Even though Justin was a bit younger than the men he usually dates, something about him was so adorable and endearing. 

Justin froze as Ben approached him, wondering if he had some sort of complaint about his tour.

"Justin. I just wanted to thank you for the tour-the class was truly engaged."

Justin was happy there were no complaints-it was nice for things to go smoothly at the gallery for once. "Thank you Professor Bruckner. Feel free to come back anytime," Justin replied.

Ben held out his hand to Justin and they shook. Just the feeling of this man's strong hand and his genuine smile was making Justin hard so he stepped back a few feet. Damn Justin! get it through your head-this guy is maddeningly straight!.

"Call me Ben."

"Okay, thank you BEN."

Ben's mind was swimming in uncertainty but decided to ignore that and proceed with his intended purpose. "Justin, I hope you don't find this inappropriate, but I would really like to take you out sometime. Well specifically, this weekend."

Justin looked up, his face twisted in confusion. "You're gay?!" he blurted before he could stop himself. 

Before Ben could answer Justin continued, "How did you know that I'm gay?"

Justin waited patiently for a reply. "Justin," Ben started, "I am a Professor of Gay Studies at Carnegie Mellon, and if I don't have impeccable gaydar I don't know who does."

Both men laughed at that. "And besides," Ben continued. "You're too adorable to be straight."

Justin felt himself blushing at the compliment and let it sink in that this man was asking him out. OUT, not as in to hook up but out on a date! He hadn't been on a date since, well he couldn't remember when.

"So what do you say?" Ben questioned. "Dinner and Babylon on Friday night."

"Sounds great," Justin replied still in awe that he was going "out" with Mr. Delicious! He was really going to have to stop calling him that before he accidentally said it out loud. 

The men exchanged numbers and Ben smiled broadly at him before walking back toward his class. Justin managed to avoid jumping up and down like a two year old until he reached his office and soon realized he had nothing to wear on his date!


	3. Two Dates and a Run-In

  
Author's notes: Thanks to those who are reading my story, this chapter is much longer. And I have made a decision: In this AU story Ben is not positive. I hope this does not offend anyone, because I know it is such a big part of his character in the show. I just figured that in my ideal AU, HIV would not exist, so therefore he couldn't have it. Also, I did not want that to be an issue in who Justin "picks"; I just didn't want to go there.   


* * *

Ben and Justin walked down Liberty Avenue after the first part of their date-dinner at a small little Thai place downtown. Ben wanted to choose somewhere casual and where he knew enough about the food in case Justin was unsure about what to order. It turned out Justin loved Thai food also and they had a great time at dinner. Both men were interested in the arts and they were artists themselves so conversation rarely lulled.

As they walked down Liberty Avenue they both felt eyes on them-everyone was checking them out! Ben was the typical "Stud" bordering on bear and Justin was a textbook twink. There was definitely something there for everyone! 

Justin had not been on a real date in years, and was very impressed by Ben. As he had mused yesterday, the more attractive the guy, the less kind and introspective. But Ben had proved this theory wrong-he even pulled out his chair and opened doors. Justin wasn't sure how he felt about this whole thing, but he was definitely going to go with it for tonight. 

As they approached Babylon Ben held Justin close and pulled him into a hug. 

"I am really glad you came out with me tonight," Ben whispered.

"Well the night is just getting started, " Justin looked up at Ben and smiled and the two men proceeded into the club.

Justin was actually really excited about dancing-he rarely found the time to get to clubs. And if he did have the time he was always reluctant to go alone. He was the epitome of a club boy back in New York, but he didn't want to get into the pattern of taking a new guy home every night. Going to the club alone made that all too tempting. 

Justin and Ben went to the bar and got a drink and then made their way to the dance floor. Justin was impressed by Ben's dancing skills and then out of nowhere Ben took of his shirt and pulled Justin close to him. Justin knew that Ben had a great body but seeing it was another story. Justin ran his hands down Ben's smooth chest, moving to the music. His hands were dangerously close to Ben's crotch but he somehow managed to keep his hands above the waist. A little touching was fine, but Ben didn't seem like the "back room" type, which was fine with Justin.

Ben was just as enamored with his dancing partner. Justin looked so hot dancing, but still innocent at the same time smiling like a young kid. The two danced for a while and then returned to the bar, talking and laughing. 

Neither man saw Brian Kinney across the bar, watching them with a concentration not even reserved for the hottest trick. Brian ordered another shot of beam and as he watched the two men flirting he got more and more angry and more and more drunk. When Justin never called he assumed it was because he had a boyfriend, but he was sure Ben was single. Just seeing this was fucking annoying. He didn't think Justin was a Babylon type, but now he knew different and it pissed him off, but he couldn't figure out why. He continued watching the men until they walked toward the exit and then Brian walked toward the back room.

Ben walked Justin to his car and the two men faced each other.

"I had a great time tonight," Justin said, leaning toward Ben sensually and then leaned up for a kiss.

"Yeah me too. Look, I'll call you tomorrow okay?" Ben replied and then pulled Justin in for a hug.

"Sure, bye," Justin said but the thoughts in his head were more along the lines of "WHAT THE FUCK". He could understand not fucking on a first date (sort of) but not getting a kiss, even a peck? Ben was the one that went all "striptease" at the club, talk about leading a man on. 

Justin thought about the "Ben Incident" for a while and then decided that Ben must not be interested in him. Shit Happens. As Justin was just about to fall asleep he heard his cell phone ringing.

"Hello."

"Justin, it Ben. I'm sorry to call so late."

"No, its fine. What's up?"

"Well, I guess I'll just spit it out. I really regret not kissing you tonight," Ben took a deep breath. "I really don't know why I was acting so strange…I guess I wanted everything to be perfect."

To say the least Justin felt like a total asshole for mentally bashing Ben but relieved to know that he wasn't being rejected. 

"I really wanted to kiss you too," Justin blurted. "Well I guess we have something to look forward to for out next date!"

Ben laughed and both men said their goodbyes. Justin invited Ben to go to Babylon for the "pecs of death" contest next weekend and both men fell asleep excited about their next date.

**That Night-Brian's Loft**

Brian had just kicked out trick number 45, 910 and tried to forget that out of a whole club filled with gay men he chose the one that most closely resembled Justin. He couldn't get the man out of his mind-he kept thinking about their run-in at the gallery. Justin was so self-assured but at the same time innocent, not to mention he had the most perfect ass and the cutest smile.

"That's it, "Brian thought. "I need more pot….now. I am acting like a dyke."

Brian smoked another joint but was unable to get the blonde out of his mind. He finally realized that the only way to solve this problem was to have the blonde, and the sooner the better. 

**The Next Weekend**

I was a warm Saturday morning and Justin was rushing to the gallery. Justin was really regretting the early meeting he scheduled, why does he do these things? Justin was extremely tired so he decided the need for caffeine outweighed his worry of being late. As he walked toward the coffee he looked around at the sights, he was still a newcomer to the city after all. He definitely wasn't expecting to meet a guy so soon either, especially one as great as Ben.

That thought was literally knocked out of him as he suddenly found himself on the ground, looking up at the most gorgeous sight. His vision was a little blurry from the impact, but he soon realized that this sight was Brian Kinney. Evidently he had knocked right into the man as he was leaving the café.

Brian offered his hand to Justin, "Are you okay?" Brian attempted. "Hey…Hello?"

Justin was momentarily incapacitated as he stared into the brunette's green eyes. That day at the gallery he was a bit stressed and he hadn't really noticed the man's beauty. Then when he realized Brian was just trying to pick him up he guessed he just didn't let himself truly see him. Justin somehow came out of his trance and managed to take Brian's hand and pull himself up.

"Oh God. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Justin said showing his embarrassment.

"Sorry's bullshit," Brian replied. "And besides, it was my fault, I was running to get my wallet and basically pummeled you," Brian smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Justin blushed and just looked at Brian quizzically. 

"I'll tell you what, let me grab my wallet and I'll buy you a cup." 

Before Justin could protest Brian had his wallet and was leading him into the coffee shop. Brian couldn’t believe his luck! He had this elaborate plan to "run into" Justin at his gallery next week but instead the man literally runs into him! 

They stood at the counter and Justin opened his wallet and tried to pay, but Brian refused and paid the cashier himself. But before Justin closed his wallet Brian noticed something rather interesting and snatched the wallet right out of Justin's hand.

"What the fuck?" Justin exclaimed. "Did you decide against paying now?" 

"Of course not." Brian rolled his eyes. "I was actually admiring an interesting artifact in your wallet." Brian pulled out his own business card that he had given Justin last week. 

"Saving my number for a rainy day?" Brian questioned.

Justin felt himself blushing slightly but quickly recovered. "Hey, you never know," Justin flirted. "Or was there some sort of time constraint on your offer?"

Brian didn't answer. He simply slipped his card back into Justin's wallet and walked over to a table with Justin trailing behind. Justin felt like some magnetic force was pulling him to sit with Brian. He was already late for this stupid meeting and now he was "having coffee" with Brian Kinney; this day was shaping up to be totally fucked. 

"So," Brian began. "What was on your mind when you weren’t watching where you were going? Hot guy?"

"I thought you said it was your fault."

"Yeah well, I lied. To spare your feelings, you know what a KIND person I am," Brian snarked.

"I never knew calling someone kind could be an insult. Well until I met you I guess," Justin replied, still wondering how he got himself into this God Damn situation. 

"So," Brian continued. "Were you thinking about a hot guy?" Brian gave Justin his most seductive look, a look that he knew no man could resist. He was hoping to erase any thoughts the blonde had about Ben with one single look. 

"No!" Justin blurted and then cleared his throat. "I was actually thinking about work. As you could probably tell from last week, I'm in a bit over my head."

"You seemed fine to me," Brian replied. "When did you move here? It must have been recent because I would have noticed you." Brian nonchalantly shifted in his chair to move subtly closer to Justin and brushed Justin's foot with his.

"I moved here about a month ago," Justin explained. "From New York City."

"Talk about a downgrade," Brian said in all seriousness.

"Well socially yes," Justin started and looked right at Brian and gave him a little smirk. He just couldn't help flirting a bit with this gorgeous man. "But career wise it was a pretty good move. No one there would have promoted someone my age; here I'm in line for director. If I can get my shit together that is."

"And maybe take some anger management classes over at the learning annex?" Brian joked, and Justin could tell he really was kidding. 

Justin was then struck with a horrifying realization-he was really enjoying Brian's company. Every gay man he had met in Pittsburgh had warned him about Brian's charms, that every conversation he has is his attempt to somehow get you into bed. But for some reason Justin didn't care about that. Well, maybe the reason was that he desperately wanted to get lured into Brian's bed. Then out of nowhere he heard his best friend Daphne's voice in his head lecturing him from some book she was reading like 5 years ago,

"Justin," Daphne had explained. "Okay on of the rules is that if you really want to get your man YOU always have to end the conversations first. Phone, in person, whatever. Even if you are having the best time ever, it will pay off and you will be irresistible. I think its like, if they think you're busy…" 

The real lecture went on MUCH longer than that but Justin knew what he was going to do no matter how weird or childish it was.

"Speaking of the gallery, I was supposed to be there by noon. Maybe next time we see each other I won't be an emotional wreck or on my ass," Justin gave Brian a wide smile and started to get up. 

Brian smirked "Too easy," he replied and then watched Justin walk away.

Wow. He knew Justin was hot, but Brian wasn't expecting to actually like the man. 

 

**Later That Night-Pittsburgh Memorial Park**

Ben and Justin had plans to attend to "Pecs of Death" contest at Babylon, but Ben decided to take Justin for a walk in the park before they went to the club. It was nearly impossible to have any type of real conversation over the music at Babylon, and he just wanted to spend some quiet time alone with Justin. The two men walked through the park holding hands. It was a gorgeous fall night, but still warm and the air smelled like burning leaves. 

They approached a bench, and Ben motioned for Justin to sit down. Ben was extremely nervous, but wanted to tell Justin about his feelings for him. Ben held Justin's hand and started,

"Justin, you are the most intelligent, kind man I have ever met. I really enjoy spending time with you."

Justin was a bit startled by this confession. He liked Ben too, but they had only known each other for a short time and Justin wasn't really ready for a serious commitment. Not to mention he had been thinking about Brian Kinney all day, and how great their sex would be. 

"Wow, Ben. I have a great time spending time with you too," Justin honestly replied. 

Ben WAS a great guy and gorgeous. 

Ben pulled Justin closer and whispered, "Not to mention you are so beautiful." He pulled Justin into a warm hug. 

Justin was encased in Ben's strong arms and he realized that he hadn't felt this safe since he was a little boy, protected by his father. That was long before his father found out he was gay of course. Ben looked at him so adoringly that Justin couldn’t help but melt a little, and all thoughts about Brian Kinney dissolved.

Ben pulled back slightly and with a light touch tipped Justin's mouth up toward his own. Ben leaned down and lightly kissed Justin and the kiss became more forceful as the minutes passed. The two men sat on the park bench kissing and were off in their own little world. Neither of them noticed that they were being intensely watched-not by Brian Kinney-who wouldn't be caught dead in the park on a Saturday night. But by another lonely Pittsburgh man--Michael Novotny.

 

**Even LATER That Night-Babylon**

Brian leaned on the bar and was about to order another shot of beam when his best friend frantically approached.

"What's wrong with you?" Brian coolly inquired.

"Brian! I am so fucking pissed I can't even explain it!" Michael was completely irate. "Remember that guy I had a crush on, the guy who came into my comic book store? Well he came in like three times a couple weeks ago and was totally hitting on me! He was so cute and he liked me, I know he did! And then I see him in the park with his stupid blonde boyfriend. This is such bullshit! I am never going to find a guy."

Michael finally stopped for air long enough to order a beer. Brian had seen his friend upset before, but this was something new entirely.

"Fuck Michael! Slow down! This is the first I've heard about a crush."

"Yeah, for a reason. I saw him first-I didn't want you getting any ideas," Michael pouted.

"Oh give me a fucking break, as if we even have the same taste. So who is this guy anyway?"

"Well, his name is Ben Bruckner, and he is…"

Brian cut Mikey off mid-sentence. "No Shit! Did him," Brian said while at the same time thinking, "Fuck, Justin is dating that Zen Freak!"

"Okay very funny Brian," Mikey replied, "Anyway, I saw him in the park--"

Brian cut Michael off again. "Seriously Michael. I fucked him. It was couple of years ago at the white party."

"I thought you didn’t exchange names and numbers," Michael was absolutely livid.

"Yeah well, whatever," Brian replied trying to ignore the fact that Michael looked like a puppy that had just been kicked and the fact that he getting nauseous at the thought of Ben with Justin. 

"Shouldn’t this make you feel better Mikey? I mean how great can this guy be if he was willing to sleep with me?"

Michael smiled at that, and the two men decided that this was the prefect occasion to get ridiculously loaded. Of course Brian wasn't going to admit the irony of the situation-that he was actually lusting after the same man that caught Ben's eye. He had seen the two at Babylon before, but boyfriend? Walks in the park? Those were new angles.

All Brian knew was that looked fucking hot tonight, he was drunk, in the process of getting Mikey drunk, and if they ran into the terrible two at Babylon he was in the mood to cause some serious trouble. After the fourth round of shots Brian spied Pittsburgh's newest couple across the bar. Any bystander could have heard Brian's slightly slurred declaration, "Mikey, I have an idea."


End file.
